1. Another game against a last-place team and another bullying performance from the Yankees offense as they pummeled the White Sox 10-4 on Thursday.
Cody Bellinger gave the Yankees an early 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run home run on an 0-2 count and a Jazz Chisholm solo home run and a Ben Rice RBI single in the second had the Yankees ahead 4-0. But in the bottom of the second, Miguel Vargas hit a game-tying grand slam off Will Warren after an egregious Anthony Volpe fielding error extended the inning.
2. The game remained tied until the fifth when the Yankees scored twice to take 6-4 lead and they added three more in the eighth and one in the ninth. Trent Grisham homered again, Rice had a pair of hits, Bellinger had three hits and even Volpe had two hits to break up a 1-for-38 run in the second half of the month. Do I think this is the start of something for Volpe and he’s now going to go on a run to get his numbers back to respectability (if it’s even possible for him to get back to respectability with 28 games left)? No, I do not. I think it was the result of someone getting to play every day having a random day with a pair of hits and nothing more than that. I expect him to continue to struggle at the plate because that’s what he has done for three full years and expect him to screw up routine plays in the field because that’s what he does now.
3. None of the four White Sox runs were earned, so Warren’s ERA was unscathed by the second-inning grand slam as he went five innings. Fernando Cruz, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams combined to throw three perfect innings, striking out six of the nine hitters they faced and Mark Leiter Jr. managed to put up a scoreless ninth.
4. It was a rather easy win outside of the second-inning scare as a result of the Volpe error and grand slam that followed. It was the fifth time in the last 13 games the Yankees scored double-digit runs, though those games came against the Cardinals, Rays, Nationals and White Sox. The Yankees are now 12-4 in their last 16 games even if it doesn’t feel like it after the demoralizing series against the Red Sox.
5. “There’s real length to the order, and there’s places that can hurt you up and down the order,” Aaron Boone said.
Maybe you want to let Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello know where those places are? Again, how about winning a series against a good team, an actual contender before talking about how good you?
6. “We want to win the division,” Chisholm said. “Right now, it’s just like, we’re going to go out there and win that and then we’re going to go and win the World Series.”
It’s comments like those that make it hard to like Chisholm. Chisholm said something similar back on June 25 when the Yankees salvaged the third game of a series in Cincinnati, saying, “I feel like we got a great team and I feel like we’re going to make the World Series again.” At the time the Yankees had lost nine of 12 and after that win they would lose 22 of their next 39.
7. Yes, the Yankees have currently won 12 of 16, but 11 of those 12 wins have come against the Twins, Cardinals, Rays, Nationals and White Sox. In the other four games, they went 1-3 against the Red Sox. I don’t know why Chisholm feels the need to run his mouth when the Yankees have been humiliated by the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Tigers, Astros, Phillies and Dodgers this season and blew an enormous division lead to the Blue Jays and an even bigger wild-card lead to the Red Sox. Maybe wait until you actually win the World Series before talking about it? Maybe wait until you improve upon your 10-for-55 performance from last postseason before you act like you were on the Dodgers last year and not the Yankees?
8. Let’s look at Chisholm’s lofty goal of winning the division and see if it’s possible.
The Yankees are four games back of the Blue Jays with 28 games remaining. If the Blue Jays were to go 14-14, the Yankees would have to go 19-9 to win the division since they can’t have the same record because the Blue Jays hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Blue Jays do have series left against the Brewers, Reds, Astros and Red Sox aside from their series against the Yankees, but it’s hard to believe they would play .500 baseball with 13 games left against the Orioles, Rays and Royals. Let’s say the Blue Jays go 16-12. The Yankees would then have to go 21-7. The math just isn’t there because for the Yankees to win 21 of 28, they would have to play exceptionally well against the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Astros and Tigers, which they haven’t done all year.
9. Maybe eight years of Boone telling everyone the Yankees’ best baseball is still in front of them will cash in. Maybe they will go on an unforeseen run and win 21 of 28 or something crazy and the Blue Jays will stumble and the Yankees can win the division and get a bye into the ALDS. It’s extremely unlikely, but I guess there is a small chance it could happen. It would have happened if the Yankees could have protected their eight-game lead over the Blue Jays earlier this summer.
10. Friday is another opportunity for another win against the White Sox with Carlos Rodon going against former Yankee Yoendrys Gomez. The Yankees’ goal right now should be to get out of the second wild-card spot and into the first to make sure they aren’t on the road for the entirety of a best-of-3. Once that is accomplished then they can worry about the Blue Jays and the division. The Blue Jays are hosting the Brewers this weekend with the Red Sox hosting the Pirates. Get ready for a month of scoreboard watching.
Last modified: Aug 29, 2025
